Accounting, Budgeting, and the Liberal Arts Accounting is the lingua franca of commercial and financial activity, and applies equally to corporations, non-profits, and governments. In this course we will learn the basic concepts and standards underlying the accounting language including: revenue recognition, inventory, long-lived assets, present value, long-term liabilities, and financial statements. We then turn to the application and use of accounting information in forecasting, operating, and measuring an enterprise. These managerial accounting concepts are used to develop budgets and evaluate results. Our understanding of accounting and financial statements is needed to understand how business interrelates with society. The major course project will be developing an Excel financial model; no prior Excel experience required.

Introduction to Finance In this introductory survey course we will cover the role of finance in society, the basic workings of the financial system, how funds are allocated within the economy, and how institutions raise money. We will cover a range of topics, including: interest rates and the time value of money; uncertainty and the trade-off between risk and return; security market efficiency; stocks, bonds and optimal capital structure; financing decisions and capital budgeting; sovereign risk; foreign currencies; derivatives markets; and concerns about the role of finance in society.  The course will include discussions of current news events in global markets.

Advanced Topics in Business & Enterprise Seminar In this seminar, we will explore advance topics in finance, organizations, management science, law and business, marketing, and decision theory.  Typically, the theme of the seminar will rotate yearly with odd years being finance oriented and even years being management science or leadership-oriented topics.  For AY23, we will explore the quantitative topic of venture capital and private equity.  The course will focus on the following four areas:  business valuation, financing, private and venture capital industry, and exit.  Class discussion, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform student learning experience.

Business & International Human Rights In this course we will examine the legal, economics, philosophical, and policy implications of requiring businesses to comply with international human rights law. Given the rapidly growing area of law and social justice, differences between hard law, soft law, custom, and general principles of human rights laws will be explored. We will interrogate social problems like child labor, climate change and environmental degradation, human trafficking, global financial destabilization, indigeneity, modern slavery, ethnic and geopolitical conflict, war, and genocide. We will also track how conceptions of international human rights have changed over time and globally. Primary and secondary works from the field of history, economics, sociology, and law will be incorporated to carry out the goal of the course which is to provide tools and perspectives that help students engage thoughtfully in these debates and to extend them into application in their own roles as engaged citizen, corporate, nonprofit, public, and entrepreneurial leaders.

Corporate Governance In this course, students will learn about the topic of corporate governance with a focus on large publicly traded corporations. At the firm level, the importance of corporate governance is justified by the complexity of the contractual environment where owners (shareholders), executive managers, board of directors and other stakeholders interact. We will cover topics in ownership and control, managerial monitoring and compensation, the structure and diversity of the board of directors, and shareholder engagement and activism. Also, in the wake of various corporate scandals worldwide, the role of corporate governance codes and regulation in setting new standards and best practices is evident. We will look at the evolution of these corporate governance standards, both in the U.S. and internationally.

Business as Culture: Commerce in Context In this course, students will familiarize themselves with the field of business and design anthropology, an emergent field which examines the understanding of culture by focusing on the nexus between individual interactions and broader structure, market, and particularly business. Students will learn why it is fundamental for business leaders to understand culture and the material impacts different cultural values and preferences have on the success or failure of business.    Students will have the opportunity to explore the kinds of strategies firms can adopt to make their business more suitable to the various socio-cultural contexts in which they operate.

Business Ethics Capitalism and competitive markets are often considered the most efficient system of simultaneously maximizing private wealth and public good. In the real world, however, truly competitive markets do not exist.   Imperfect markets have been made to work efficiently while protecting public good through systems of public intervention, i.e., laws and regulations, and voluntary self-restraint by business organizations in response to societal expectations. In this class we will consider the role of ethics in business, with students analyzing the process by which ethical norms and strongly held moral beliefs guide the conduct of economically driven business organizations.  Students will reflect on business managers’ responsibility to their owners, i.e., shareholders, other stakeholders, and society-at-large.

Public Management: Creating Public Value In this course, we will learn how a public administrator/manager is qualitatively different from a manager in the private sector and the nonprofit sector.  We will first survey the core foundations, principles, and readings of the field of public administration and public management. Students will then acquire and develop their own public manager’s toolbox which includes an introduction to goal setting and accountability, financial stewardship of public assets, policy system analysis, quantitative policy modeling techniques, and market failures. Students will also engage with International public administration/management readings and examples. Class discussion, case studies, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform students’ learning experiences.

Financial Literacy & Inequality This course will apply an interdisciplinary approach to issues of financial literacy, financial exclusion, and financial inequality.  Topics relating to the specified domains include intergenerational equity, retirement security, consumer debt, individual taxation, and economic development.  These concepts provide a disciplined way of thinking about personal financial decisions while simultaneously framing how we think about retirement security and issues of financial equity writ large.

Minding Business: Neuroscience and Business In this seminar, we will explore the potentiality of building better businesses through brain science.  We will investigate the field of neuroscience and business.  Falling under the penumbra of organizational behavior and management science, this course will focus on the following five key areas: ethical, legal, and philosophical concepts of neuroscience in commerce and technology, group and team-based leadership chemistry and dynamics enhanced by neuroscience, neuroeconomics, neuromarketing, and lastly brain science and the humanities.  Class discussion, short lectures, individual research projects, and oral presentations will inform student learning experience.

Finance, Regulation, and Policy With recent financial scandals and crises, an important question is whether the finance industry should be regulated and should undergo further policy reforms. Many scholars and policy experts contend that the current system is simply not designed to make policy choices on behalf of the public. In this course we will explore current financial innovations (e.g., mutual funds, hedge funds, securitizations, cryptocurrencies, just to name a few) and potential policy options in order to protect “Main Street” from “Wall Street”. Additionally, we will explore the manner in which modern finance has grown out of powerful theories, both mathematical and psychological.

Management, Enterprise, and Business What does it mean to lead or manage a business, non-profit or any other enterprise, and how does one go about doing it?  Drawing on different management theories, this course will explore games and "tactics" deployed by organizations.  We will leverage basic industrial organization frameworks from economics (eg. hold-outs, switch costs, network effects, economies of scope, etc) to decipher organizational behavior.  In addition, we will review case studies of organizations facing serious management challenges and explore how those challenges could be addressed (INTD0120 or by waiver).

Anthropology of Global Corporations Multinational corporations have become pervasive in the 21st Century global economy. No other social organization matches their ability to increase productivity and multiply wealth. Nor does any other social vehicle match their power to destabilize preexisting relationships. In this course we will learn about the anthropology of exchange and capitalism through ethnographies of corporations, corporate social responsibility, factory production, and financial speculation in the U.S., China, South Africa, and Papua New Guinea. We will also evaluate social-justice critiques of corporate structures: are they meritocracies or exclusionary kin-based networks? Do they build community or merely offload costs? For the final project, students will have the option of doing ethnographic research on a for-profit or not-for-profit enterprise. 3 hours, lct/disc,

Big Business, Big Data, & Big Obligations In this course we will examine the cultural, economic, ethical, and legal implications of, analytics, big data, and computation. Drawing on various disciplines in the humanities and the social sciences, students will read works relating to the science of data collection, aggregation, and analysis.  Students will learn that with opportunities for both financial gain and social good (which big data brings) comes various perils, including privacy violations, disability/gender/racial discrimination, economic disruption, negative environmental spillovers, and political destabilization.

Capitalism & Its Criticisms In this course we will explore the concept of capitalism and how it carries variegated meanings, which spans a wide range of societies and differing relationships between economic, political, and civic institutions within them. Students will have the opportunity to examine various forms and perspectives of capitalism which include contraband capitalism, racial capitalism, gendered capitalism, and scientific capitalism. We will also track how conceptions of capitalism have changed over time and globally. Primary and secondary works from the field of history, law, economics, philosophy, religion, and sociology will be incorporated to carry out the goal of the course which is to provide tools and perspectives that help students engage thoughtfully in these debates and to extend them into application in their own roles as engaged citizen, corporate, nonprofit, public, and entrepreneurial leaders.

Introduction to Business and Enterprise This course provides students who have little to no background in business with a broad overview of business and enterprise in the economy. Students will learn about types of enterprises and a functional framework for understanding a business, including strategy, finance, production, and marketing.  This framework will be used to analyze various businesses and non-profits, exploring the advantages and disadvantages of various structures. The course will give overviews of accounting and entrepreneurship, and explore policy and philosophical debates about the morality of for-profit business and the need for corporate responsibility.

The Diverse Workplace: Gender, Race and the Modern Corporation Knowing why and how to harness the power of human difference to facilitate human flourishing is a critical competency for leaders.  In this course we will learn about the challenges and opportunities of diversity.  This course has three components.  First, students will explore ways humans can advance in the modern workplace and how the roles of people of all genders must evolve in order to do so.  The second component centers on the issue of race in and at the organization/corporation (for-profit and not-for-profit).  And the third component relates to how workplace diversity is a valuable and strategic asset to the modern corporation.  Students will learn that organizations, too, are social actors.  As such, issues of gender and race shape organizations and their ability to obtain cultural, political, and material resources they need to survive—the organizing process.

Nonprofits & Civil Society Nonprofit and civil society organizations of all types play a crucial and growing role in the economy.  According to the National Center for Charitable Statistics, there are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States today. According to the Global Journal, there are more than 10 million nongovernmental organizations worldwide. As the nonprofit sector has grown in scope and size, both domestically and internationally, the boundaries between for-profit, governmental, and charitable organizations have become intertwined.  In this course we will learn about the economics, history, governance, law, and structure relating to the nonprofit sector (also known as the Third Sector).

Tim Nguyen

Reviews and ratings for Tim Nguyen at Middlebury College.Tim Nguyen teaches Accounting/Budgeting/Lib Arts, Introduction to Finance, Adv Topics in Bus.& Enterprise and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Tim Nguyen good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

The evening class was well paced, with student-led discussions and presentations most classes (and occasional guest speakers). The exams and presentations were straightforward, and there was a final research paper. 

This class was interesting. It only meets once a week, which is nice but can be tough sometimes as it is a night class. Tim is a great, humorous guy and while he makes the class pretty straightforward to get an A, he does cold call quite often so you have to be engaged and willing to participate. 

Prof. Nguyen is an absolute treasure, and anybody who is interested in the world of finance, banking, consulting, etc., should not only take this course but any of his courses should they have the chance. This class specifically is very student presentation and guest lecture heavy. Despite the 3 hour timeslot, we rarely went the full time and instead covered a lot of ground fast. He is fun, knows his stuff, and overall a great professor.  